13 months of Japril
by audreylovesVM
Summary: A little challenge I created for myself. This book will contain 12 one-shots. The stories won't be related. Most of them will probably be AU. Hope you'll enjoy it. Follow me on twitter for updates @shipping japril
1. Month 1: Christmas

April hadn't told her parents that Jackson and her were back together. And she hadn't planned to do so until at least pass her birthday. But there she was, at the airport waiting for them to get off their flights so they could celebrate Christmas together and she could be judge once again for her life decisions.

"Mom, Dad!" She exclaimed as she saw them walk towards her.

"Apple, honey!" Her father said hugging her. "You look good. How's life treating you."

"It's great. Everything is great."

"April , where's our granddaughter?" Her mother asked.

"She's with Jackson and Catherine. They went Christmas shopping for her bear. It's their little tradition."

"Of course. And it had to be today." Her mother whispered to herself, thinking April wouldn't hear.

April ignored her mother's comment and took their luggage.

"Come on, they'll be back home when we'll arrive."

She carried their luggage to her car and they headed to her and Jackson's place.

 _~at Jackson's and April's house~_

April unlocked the door and opened it, revealing the interior to her parents. The entrance faced the living room where a huge gray couched layer in front of the chimney where three Christmas socks hang each with a name sewed on. One was Jackson, the middle one belonged to April and finally one with Harriet's name. Above the fireplace hanged a portrait of the couple and their child.

By her mother's face, April had understood that she had seen the picture.

"Grandma, grandpa!" The little girl cheered as she ran towards the two adults. "I missed you guys. Do you want to see my new room?" She took her grandparents hands and dragged them to the back of the house. "See, I told you it was bigger than the old one. Here there's enough room for all my toys!" They heard the little girl voice faded as she dragged the two adults away.

Jackson embraced his girlfriend. "So, when should we tell them." He said kissing her forehead.

"I dont think we'll have to, its pretty obvious when you look around." She said, dragging him closer. "We'll just have to pray that they'll accept it and wont make a scene."

She looked up to the man she loved and he pressed his lips against hers. For a moment they were alone and nothing would tear them apart. Then, they heard footsteps and slowly broke apart.

"Did you need anything?" She asked her father.

"No. I wanted to talk to the two of you, actually." He took a breath and April took Jackson's hand, waiting for the worst to come. "I think the two of you can make it. I always knew you'd find your way back to each other and im really happy you did. Just try to take it slow this time."

"We did dad. And we'll continue to do so." She said hugging him. "Can you talk to mom, i dont think she took it well and I dont want her to be mad about it."

"I'll talk to her, but I can't promise anything. You know how she felt after the divorce."

"Thank you Mr. Kepner." Jackson said.

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for my little girl's happiness."

 _~on Christmas night~_

"Hurry up Harriet!" April urged her daughter. "Come put your coat or we'll be late to go to church."

"Why do we have to go?" The little girl asked her mother. "Daddy doesn't come every Sunday."

"Of course he doesn't." Karen said.

"Mom, could we not talk about this now?" April implored.

"Harriet, listen to your mom." Jackson sold his daughter. "Plus im coming so put your coat on."

"But why?" The little girl continued.

Jackson helped her put her coat on and started to explain to her why this mass was special. "Because, it's little Jesus's birthday and we have to celebrate it like we do when it's yours. And we celebrate it with everyone who likes and believes in him."

April smiled at him. She knew that it wasn't part of who he was but she was glad that he was doing this for her.

 _~after the mass~_

On their way back to the house, Harriet started to talk about the ceremony and the decorations.

"Little Jesus was so cute!" The little girl exclaimed. "He had those big blue eyes and those little blond curly hair. He was so cute! He looked like Jessica's little brother." She continued. "I wish I had a little brother."

Jackson looked over at April who was sitting in the passenger seat next to him. He knew that if he only had fought for their marriage a little bit longer Harriet might've had a little brother by now. But what hurt most was that part of her wish came true. She had a big brother, a long time ago.

"Could I have a little brother for Christmas next year?" Harriet asked.

The two adults laugh and the three people in the back seats looked at them unaware of what was so funny.

 _~at midnight~_

"Come on Harriet, it time to get up." Jackson told his child. "Santa came! There are presents for you under the tree."

The little girl opened her eyes and looked straight at the door.

"Presents, for me?"

"Yes." Her mother answered from outside her room. "Hurry."

Harriet had never run faster. Her little legs moved fast to the living room where a pile of presents later under the tree.

"Wow!" She said.

"Go, open them." Karen hurried the little girl while giving her a big green box with a huge red bow on it.

 _~30 minutes later~_

All the boxes were open now except one. It was a little green box with reindeer on it. Harriet went to get it and gave it to her mother.

"There is no name on this one. Do you know for who it is?" The little irl asked her mother.

April took the present and observed it.

"Oh, I know for who it is but it isn't for now. It's for daddy but man is going to give it to him later. Now its time to get you to bed." She said. "Say goodnight to grandma and grandpa."

The little girl gave a hug to both her grandparents and walked to her room.

"I should probably go to make sure she brushes her teeth." Jackson said getting up from the couch.

"Yes and make sure she does her prayer." April added.

"Will do." The surgeon said while walking towards his daughter's bedroom.

Karen watched him walk into her bedroom. "Like that's ever going to happen." She exclaimed. "And what was in that box, hum? Was it lingerie? I bet he likes that. Do you really want him around your child?"

"Mom!"

"He probably wont even ask her to pray and how can you trust him after all he put you through? If it were me I never would've let him see her."

"Well, its not you mom. And I love him. And he loves me and our child. You have no idea how hard it was for him after Samuel. And frankly, you don't get to decide what I do." She took and deep breath and continued. "If you're her to be mean to him in front of our child than I'm going to ask you to leave because there is not longer a place for you in this house."

She looked at her mother one last time before going off to her room where Jackson was waiting.

He was sitting on their bed and April rested her head on his chest. He kissed her forehead and stroke her back.

"Though night?" He said.

"Yeah, but I don't want it to get in the way of my present." She responded.

She gave him the little box and waited for him to open it. Inside was a little piece of paper on which was printed a sonogram.

"Really?" He asked her.

"Yes." She said smiling.

"We're having a baby!" He whispered.

He pressed his lips against hers and broke away for a moment only to say:

"I love you!"

They kissed again and this time it was April who broke their embrace.

"Merry Christmas" she said.


	2. Month 2: High School

April sat in the little bathroom in her parents' house. How did they come to this? They were best friends and then lovers and now they didn't even talk to each other. She sat on the cold floor while her tears ran out of her eyes, leaving them dry.

She felt empty inside. The only person she had known since almost forever wouldn't even talk to her. She had expected an overwhelming reaction to that kind of news, but not the one she had received.

 _~last Monday at school_ ~

April walked to Jackson's locker, waiting for him to arrive. That morning she had learn something that would change both their lives. She didn't know what to expect from him but she prayed God that he would accept her decision.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear Jackson walking towards her.

"Her babe." He said.

"Oh!" She said startled. "God! Jackson you scared me."

"Well I didn't mean to. Did I tell you you are beautiful today?"

April's checks redden and she pressed her books closed to her chest.

"No."

"Then; you're the most beautiful girl."

"Stop it!" She giggled as she playfully hit him with her books.

The bell rang, signifying the start of their classes.

"Saved by the bell." She said.

"I would've won." He said back

"Yeah, sure. If it make you happy."

They smiled to each other and hugged. Jackson rested his chin on her head.

"You know I love you."

"Yeah." She said as she tooka few step back. "I need to talk to you, at lunch."

"Okay. I'll see you there. You and my waffles."

"Jackson!" She squeaked. "I love you."

They both went their separate ways to their class.

 _~4 pm~_

April hadn't been able to break the news to him at lunch. Too many ears could hear what she was about to say. She had been relieved with the situation even thought through the last period she hadn't been able to concentrate in class, anxious of what was to come.

She was waiting for him outside of the school, under the trees. It was their spot, there and the concierge closet.

"Hey you." She heard as an arm was wrapped around her neck.

"Hey Jackman!" She replied.

They walked deeper into the little forest and he stopped.

"What's on your mind? I know you haven't said everything."

She looked at him for a few second, shocked. Of course he knew her well enough to tell when she was hiding something.

"You have to promise you won't over react. Or react at all."

"I won't."

"Oh god, I hate this." She paused. She was now walking in circles. "Okay. You know what happens when a man and a woman get together and you know things happen."

"Yeah..."

"Well things happened." She said pointing to her flat stomach.

"What? What happened."

"You know." She hinted. "Things that happen. Like stuff that we think won't happen."

"April, stop rambling. Just say it. The actual terminology, not the kid's version."

"Okay. God! I'm pregnant. Okay. I'm pregnant." She blurted out.

"What?" Jackson said in shock as he took a few step back. "That can't be possible. Condoms don't break."

"Yeah, they do." She responded to his dumb comment.

"But we were careful."

"Not enough."

"Your parents are going to kill me and my mom... shit my mom. She is going castrate me."

"Buddy, my parents are going to be way worse than your mom. They believe I'm still a virgin and that I'm keeping myself for my future husband."

"We can't do this. We're only eighteen and we're going to college next year. We wanna go to med school. Do you know how difficult that will be with a baby? And do you imagine our intern year?"

"I know it's going to be difficult but we can do it. If we work together we can do it."

"No. I... I can't be a part of this." He said, walking away. "I'm so sorry April. I just can't."

"Wh... what?!"

 _~a week later~_

April was sitting on the cold hard floor of her bathroom. She hadn't had the courage to tell her parents about the baby and that Jackson had left her. She knew she couldn't force him to be part of it, but she needed him to reassure her. To tell her that everything will be fine, that they'll get through this together.

"April, honey, are you okay." Her mother asked knocking on the door. "You're not crying again because of that boy?"

"No." She quickly responded. "I'm fine mom. I'll be out in a minute."

She looked at herself in the mirror and one last time at the ultrasound. She needed to do something, to do something so that the situation could be different.

 _~the next morning at school~_

April got to Jackson's locked and dropped the ultrasound into it. She hoped that if he saw that little bean growing inside of her, he would at least try to be a dad.

"April?!" She heard a familiar voice say. "What are you doing in my locker?"

"I'm dropping off your things." She said with a small smile on her face.

"Okay..."

"Bye Jackson."

He grabbed her arm.

"Please April. If we could only discus our options."

"There are no options Jackson. Not for me."

"Don't I have a say? I'm the father."

"No. No you don't get a say. This is my body, my baby." She said almost in a whisper.

For the first time she saw real anger in Jackson's eyes and he hit the lockers with all his force, making a small dent into the metal.

"I'm going to leave." She said afraid of what he would do next.

 _~the next week~_

April's phone rang and she hurried to answer, not looking at who was calling.

"Kepner." She said.

"Hello April. It's Catherine."

"Dr. Avery!"

"Yes darling. I heard a rumour."

"Well then it must be false. We all know how gossip works now days."

"But see, I know it's real. I found the ultrasound in Jackson's things."

"I... I can explain."

"Oh I'm sure you can. But see I already know everything you're going to say. Darling, you can't expect me to believe that my baby is really the father of your unborn child. So here how it's gonna go; you won't ask anything from us and we won't sue you."

"I'm sorry, what?!"

"You heard me right." The older woman said before ending the call.

"What the hell?!" She whispered.

She dialled a number on her phone and waited. She could hear it ring and then someone picked up the phone.

"April?"

"Next time you want to tell me something, don't let your mother do all the dirty work. And for your information, I don't need your help or you money to raise that baby."

That's was the last thing she said before hanging up on him, not even letting him justify himself.

She needed a support system and she would find one. She got up from her bed and went downstairs.

"Mom, dad. I have to tell you something."

 _~a month later~_

Everyone was now aware that April had a bun in the oven. Everyone. And people kept making fun of her. From her new nickname to the endless prank on her locker.

"Look, it's the pregnant virgin." A guy said when she turned the corner.

Everyone looked at her and she suddenly felt overwhelmed. All the seniors were out in the hallway, all separated into their gangs. She could see Jackson from were she was standing. He was looking at the ground and wouldn't make eye contact with her.

Some junior were also there and made fun of her to feel part of the gang. She had had enough of this. Enough of people making fun of her, enough o being the center of the attention when she only wanted to be forgotten.

"Yeah. I am." She responded to their comments. "And guess what? I don't care. Make fun of me all you want. In five months we'll all be out of here anyway and you'll have to deal with the fact that you're all miserable and that it's the only reason that you make fun of me. So if it can make you feel good about yourselves than go ahead, talk about me."

On that note she hurried to the library. Not seeing Jackson's eyes on her.

 _~that night~_

April was siting in her bed doing her homework and looking at universities on her computer. She was looking up appartements and daycare that were around them to see which one would be more convenient.

Bzz, bzz. Her phone vibrated. She took it and looked who was texting her.

Jackson: Hey

"Jackson." She said as she looked on her lockscreen.

She put it back down and it continued to buzz.

"Come on!" She told her phone.

Jackson: I understand if you dont want to talk

A minute later an other text came along.

Jackson: By saying that I expected you to respond

She let the phone down and went back to studying. Before she could read an other line, the phone buzzed again.

Jackson: Come on, April! I want to talk about the baby

April's eyes stayed locked on the last word. He didn't want the baby so why would he want to talk about it.

April: I have to work Jackson

Jackson: I'll just take a minute

April: What?

Jackson: I want to be in his or her life

April: Haha

April: Really funny

Jackson: I'm not joking, I was wrong. It's maybe not the right time but I'll make it

Jackson: We'll make it

April smiled to herself. He wanted to be in the baby's life! That's all she had wanted to hear for the past weeks.

 _~a week later~_

April and Jackson were walking down the hallway as they did back in the day; laughing and happy. No one had spoke about her pregnancy since her little tantrum.

"So, did you think about finding the gender?" Jackson asked his baby mama.

"Yeah. I still haven't changed my mind. We'll find out when she or he will come."

"I beg you April, please. I want to know."

"Nope, were not finding out. Only a couple more months."

"A couple more months!? Gosh April, sometimes I ask myself why I love you." He said, the last part slipping out.

They hadn't really talk about their relationship since the talk they had. That hadn't even thought about it.

"Hum... yeah." She said awkwardly.

Jackson looked embarrassed, he hadn't thought about anything he had just said. It just slipped out.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"It's fine, really."

"It's just that's we haven't talked about it and I was wondering..."

"You were wondering if we'd get back together. I'm not sure Jackson. I mean you left me pretty quickly after I broke the news. I don't want that to happen again."

"It won't, I promises." He said as he cupped her face into his hand.

"Okay, but if you do I swear I'll cut off you manhood."

"Okay, we don't need tombe hard to the boys."

He kissed her and all their worries suddenly went away.

"The boys?" She asked.

~7 months into the pregnancy~

"I want to marry you." Jackson said as he sat on her bed.

"What?!" April said, choking on her water.

"I'm serious. I want to marry you."

"No you don't. It's because of what that woman said in the prenatal class."

"It's not because of her. And stop, it's not because our child could be a bastard. It's because I live you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Jackson... We can't marry each other like that. Not when you just thought about it."

Jackson searched in his pocket and took out a black box.

"I bought it at the beginning of the year. I was going to ask you at graduation."

"What?"

"I talked to your dad. He said yes."

"Okay hold on. What?"

Jackson got down on one knee and opened the box.

"April Kepner, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?"

"Jackson... I..." she cupped his face with and hand and pressed her lips on his. "If you really want this than yes. Yes, I will marry you.

 _~2 months later~_

April had just given birth to her daughter. She was precious with her little red frizzy hair and her milk chocolate skin.

"Hey." Her husband said as he entered the room.

"Hey." She said back smiling.

"How is she?" He asked as he took her in his arms

"She's perfect." She responded.

 **The end**

2023 words


	3. Month 3: the affair

"You're still up for that dinner tonight?" Her boyfriend asked.

"Yes, I am. But I don't think you are." She said playfully.

He gently grabbed her chin and pull it toward him.

"Oh, I'm ready." He said before pressing his lips against hers.

"Oh!" A male voice said.

Their lips pulled apart and they both faced the man behind the voice. The man was tall and had chocolat brow skin. He had beautiful green eyes and we could see his muscular body under his scrubs. He was truly handsome.

"Hey Jackson." April said. "We were just about to go out."

"No we weren't." Her boyfriend said so only she could hear.

"Any good surgeries out there?" She asked to distract her ex-husband. "I heard there was a pile up on the twenty third. Did the victims come here."

"Hum, yeah. Yes, they did."

His discomfort was obvious. Jackson had never been a fan of Chad. He had always been too good. He was too good in surgeries, too good at social events and too good with Harriet. He hadn't like Chad before and now, that wasn't going to change.

"Great. We'll see you around." She said before leaving.

~the afternoon~

April was in the daycare center, playing with her little toddler. Chad was there with her too and he had let Harriet draw a girafe on his skin. Though it actually looked more like a yellow plague than the animal.

The little girl had been obsessed with girafe from the moment she laid eyes on that toothing toy. Sophie would follow her everywhere, from daddy's house to the car to the daycare to mama's house.

The three weren't aware that a man was staring at them from the windows. He was looking at them forming some kind of little family and he hated it. He had enough of Chad stealing everything that was dear to him. First his job and now the woman he loves and his child.

He opened the door and went directly to Harriet.

"Looks like we had the same idea." April cheered.

"I bet." Chad said sarcastically.

"Yeah, after all these victims I needed to see my little girl." Jackson said looking at his daughter.

April took the little girl in her arms and pointed to Jackson.

"Where's papa?" She asked the little girl. "Can you tell me where papa is?"

Harriet looked at Chad then looked over at Jackson before pointing Chad with her little fingers.

"Papa!" She said smiling.

Jackson's face changed, he hadn't been expecting this. Harriet was his little girl, his and April's and he hated to think that she thought otherwise.

"That's not papa." April said faking a laugh. "Look, here papa."

She gave the little girl to Jackson and she almost immediately regretted it.

"No!" The little girl yelled. "Papa! Papa!" She said as she tried to get out of her father's arms to go to Chad.

Jackson looked at his little girl. How could she hate him so much? He left her on the ground and walked out of the daycare center.

"I'll be back." April told the men next to her.

"Don't bother Aps, he'll be fine. Won't he Harriet?" Chad asked the toddler.

"Chad." April reprimanded him.

"Aps." He said back.

April looked at him and got up. She knew Jackson better than anyone and she knew that this bothered him. She walked outside the daycare and started looking for Jackson. She had to walk for a while before finding him at a nurse station.

"Jackson, I looked for you everywhere. Can we talk?" She asked her ex-husband.

"No." He told her.

"Come on."

"I said no. I won't talk about your boyfriend and how precious his relationship is with my daughter."

"That's not..." April started.

"That's exactly it, April. Maybe you don't want to see it, but he's trying to be something he's not. With Harriet and you."

"With me?! You're out of line here."

"See, we end up fighting again." He said pointing himself and her. "I don't want to talk anymore. I've got an hour before my next meeting and I intend to sleep before hand so could you please just stop talking." He said.

Jackson got up the stairs and April followed him. He went over into his office and closed the door. April waited for a second, thinking about forgetting it like he asked but she needed to deal with this now. She opened the door to find Jackson laying down on his couch.

"Really?" He asked.

"You want me to understand your point of view?" She said. "Then you'll have to talk to me."

Jackson looked over at April but didn't talk.

"Okay... what your problem with Chad? Hum? He's a good guy and he likes Harriet."

"Yeah sure, he's a good guy." Jackson said sarcastically.

"Oh come on!"

"What? Why can I not like him? I don't like him."

"You don't even know him."

"Oh trust me, I know the guy. We went to med school together and guess what, he was the worst."

"Okay so you're basing you not liking him on something that happened 10 years ago?"

"Not only that April. Maybe you haven't heard, but I'm not allowed to do surgery anymore because of him."

"How can that be his fault?"

"He's the one who convince Bailey. And he's trying to replace me. Since I'm gone, he's the next on line to be the chief of plastics."

"And...?"

"April he's lying to you. He doesn't love you. He's using you to hurt me. It's what he's been doing for years."

"I'm not being used. And he would never do that."

"I'm not lying. He's with you to hurt me because he knows that I'm still in love with you."

"I'm sorry what?!"

"Crap. I said it out loud didn't I? April, I'm in love with you. I've never stopped loving you."

"And you divorce the woman you love?"

"I needed time. I was drowning but you saved me."

"I can't. I just can't." She said, stepping back.

"You can." He said, getting closer to her. So close that now their heads were touching. "You can and you want to."

"No I..." she looked at his lips and suddenly she lost all her resistance. She wanted him so badly. "I want you."

Their forehead were touching. Jackson was looking at April and she was looking at his lips. She was slowly losing all the armour she had been building for the past years. She was ready to take it off, to take everything off.

But Jackson was retirent to the idea. He wasn't going to hurt her again.

"Jackson..." She whispered. "I want this. I want you."

He pushed her body against the wal and gently lifted her shirt with his right hand and stroke her back with his other hand were the piece of metal had been for so long before.

"I don't want to hurt you, not again." Jackson said looking away from April's eyes

"You won't." She said as she touched his chin and make him look at her. "We won't hurt each other."

He lifted her from the ground and bring her to his desk. With a movement of his hand, he push every file onto the ground. He put her there and he took of his shirt. April's hand followed the lines on the man's torso. She hadn't done that in a while. Her check redden and she took of her shirt. On the base of her abdomen Jackson could see the scar their daughter had left when Ben had done an emergency c-section.

"You're beautiful." He whispered as he touched the scar.

She smiled to him and pressed her lips on his. It was his turn to smile. He unbuttoned is pants.

But a knock on the door interrupted their moment.

"April?" An angry Chad said. "Are you okay, the door is locked."

"Argh. I'm fine. Jackson and I were just talking."

"Okay." He said unconvinced. "Are you getting out soon?"

"Yep. Just give us a minute." She told him.

She took her too and put it back on and then helped Jackson to rebutting his shirt.

"We shouldn't have done this." He said.

"No shouldn't have." She said, confirming his thoughts. "It wasn't the right thing to do. But it felt right."

Jackson looked at her surprised.

"You don't feel guilty about this?" He asked her.

"Yes, of course I do." She said a little to loud.

"What are you guys talking about?" Chad said.

"Could we talk about this when my boyfriend isn't right outside?"

"Yeah."

April passed her hand through her red hair, placing her hair like they were before she came into the office. And she opened the door.

"Hey." She said. "Everything is fine. We arranged things, you could say."

"Okay. We have to go now if we don't want to be late for that dinner." He told te redhead.

~ a little passed 10 that night ~

April opened the door to hers and Jackson's appartement. Often, Chad would question her decision to live with Jackson. Even when she swore it was for their daughter's sake, he dismissed her answer, telling her she should move out. Again at dinner, Chad had brought the topic up. This time almost demanding that she moves out. His habit of controlling her life was seriously bugging her and since Jackson's comment, she could only see it more.

"Hey!" Jackson said from the couch. He had closed the tv when she entered the room. "How was your dinner?"

"Fine." She answered.

Jackson gave her a seriously-you're-gonna-lie-to-me look.

"It was horrible. He was so annoying. Kept bugging me by talking about how I should move out."

"Do you want to move out?" He asked.

"No...? No. We made the right decision living together. I... it was just hard in the beginning but it's worth it. I mean we were able to be here for all her milestones."

"Yeah. Still wish her first word would've been dad."

"Seriously? After all I went through so she could be born?" She said in an ironic tone.

"Okay, if you put it like that, you deserved to be her first word." He said laughing.

"Was she any trouble?"

"No. She was an angel, like always."

April too off her coat and sat down next to her ex-husband.

"So about this afternoon..." He started.

"I don't want to talk about it." She said. "I don't want to feel like I should feel guilty. I am not. What we did wasn't right, not since I am in a relationship, but it felt right."

"So what now? Will I be your side piece?"

"No! It wouldn't be fair to you or to him. I will break up with him, just not right now. He'll suspect something and I want this to stay private for a little while."

"Like at the beginning?" He asked as his hand moved up to her knee.

"Like at the beginning." She confirmed.

She got a little closer to him and put her arms around his neck. He put both is hand right above her ass.

"I am not going anywhere." She whispered.

"Great, cause I'm not either." He lifted her up and put her down on the couch below him. "I am staying here close to you."

 **The end.**

1902 words


	4. Month 4: High School Sweethearts

**This AU one-shot was inspired by the song Closer. The story will also have some elements from Japril's storyline but it won't be like in the show.**

 **Hope you like it.**

Jackson had just got off after a hard day at the hospital and he had decided to go to Joe's. He was almost at the end of his residency and he couldn't wait to move out of the city. Sloan and him had already stated talking about fellowships and were he would want to go: Tulane was their first choice.

The bar was crowded and loud music was playing on top of it. He looked around for a few seconds before spotting Alex. He had gotten off work before him and had shared his plan to go to Joe's and knowing Alex, it wasn't to relax and drink. He was sitting next to a brow haired girl. One empty chair on each side of te table.

"Hey man." Jackson said as he got to their table.

"Hey, this is Maya. Her and her friend are new to the city. They got here from Moline." Alex said as he presented the woman.

"Oh, really? I once had a friend who came from Moline." Jackson said to end the awkward stares.

"It's a great place." Maya added.

They stopped talking for a minute and Alex restarted the conversation he had before his friend interrupted. Jackson didn't really care about it. He had came here to drink and if he could help his friend bang some girl in the process well, he was all for it. He had just got out of a relationship and it hadn't work for many reason. She was still in love with her ex and even though he never mentioned it, so was he.

The girl in front of him waived and Alex turned around. From what Jackson understood, Maya's friend was coming back from the bathroom. Alex elbowed his friend. So that was his plan; he would take care of Maya's friend while Alex would be having sex with her.

So he turned around to look at the woman he would fake interest in. At first, he didn't look at her face. All he could see was that little red dress she was wearing and how it highlighted all her curves perfectly. Then he looked up. She had curly red hair and her face... her face looked exactly like it did when they're had first met in college.

"Jackson?" She said, surprised.

"You know her?" Alex asked, looking at him confused.

"Yeah. We, hum, we dated in college."he said.

His face was pale like he had seen a ghost. How can it possibly be her? Last time he had see her, she had broke his heart and he had broke hers. He wanted to leave. He wanted to get up and run as far has he could from her, but his legs wouldn't move. He had waited so long to see her again but now that she was here with him, he wanted to disappear.

"We did more than date, you proposed." She said, reminding him of the last night they were happy.

"Wait, you were engaged? How did I not know that about you?" Alex asked.

"It not something you brag about." He lied. It wasn't that. He wouldn't mind people to know if he had gotten over April, it just that he wasn't. And he couldn't bare people knowing of his lost and making fun of him for it.

 _~ later ~_

They had spent the pass two hours playing darts and pool. Alex and Maya were now making out in a corner while Jackson and April were doing their best to not look at each other.

The hardest part was not looking at Alex and Maya and not making fun of him. Jackson knew that his friend would probably stop caring about her the next morning and he felt sorry for April's friend.

"So, what brings you here?" He asked.

"It's a business/personal trip." She said, trying not to elaborate. But he looked at her once more and she felt like she owed him the truth. "I have a patient at GSM* and my fiancé actually works there. He's a paramedic. He recently transferred."

"You're engaged?"

"Yeah..."

"To Matthew Taylor?"

"You know him?"

"I work at SGMW." He said, keeping himself from telling her his family owned the place.

The exes aware of the tension in between them stopped talking.

~ the next morning ~

Alex walked into the living/kitchen room where Jackson was eating his breakfast. Alex opened the fridge and got the milk out, drinking straight from the carton.

"So any plans?" He asked between two sip of milk. "Are you gonna see your ex-fiancée today?"

"No."

"Are you gonna talk to me about her?"

"No." He repeated.

"Come on! I want to know about her. I want to know how the hell did you let her go."

"There's nothing to say. We were in med school and we thought we could run the world."

 _~ sometime ago ~_

 _Jackson got down on one knee. His hand still holding April's. She had tears falling down her cheeks and a smile shun bright on her face. She looked beautiful. Her eyes were bright and looked directly into his._

 _"April Kepner, I have loved you from the very first moment my eyes met yours. I love you and I will love you until my very last breath. Will you do me the honour of my wife?"_

 _"Yes." She whispered, giving him her left hand._

 _He placed the ring on her finger and lifted her up. He locked his lips on hers and smiled. She was going to become his and he would be hers._

 _"I love you." She said._

 _"I love you too."_

 _~ a month later ~_

 _"And?" He asked._

 _She hold the stick up so he could read the result._

 _"Pregnant." She said confirming what the stick had shown._

 _He looked at her for a couple of seconds, still in shock. They hadn't planned this. They were about to finish med school and start their internships._

 _"What are we gonna do?" She asked._

 _"I don't know." He said. He looked into her eyes. She was almost crying. "But as long as we are together, it's all gonna be okay."_

 _He got up and cupped her face into his hands. She was looking at the ground. He knew she didn't want it to be this way, she had planned her whole life to the minute, almost._

 _"I love you." He said, lifting her her chin. "And I won't stop. Nothing will make me stop loving you."_

 _"Okay." She said, looking straight into his eyes. "We're having a baby..." She said as a faint smile appeared on her face._

 _~ present time ~_

"So, you have no feelings whatsoever about her anymore?"

"No." He lied.

"Cool..."

"Why?"

"Cause she's hot and I definitely want to score that."

"Didn't you just score her friend last night?"

"Yeah, and?"

"You're a jerk." Jackson said as he got up and put on his jacket. "I'm going for a run."

Jackson left the appartment and took his bag with him. He was ready to start the day but feared what he might find at the hospital.

 _You left me..._

 _I didn't leave you, I was dying. I did what I had to survive..._

 _What bugs you the most? That I left or that the thing I needed wasn't you..._

 _The thing I needed was you..._

 _I needed to survive..._

 _I'm done..._

Jackson ran to work and arrived in the ER about an hour after he left his apartment. He went directly to the attending' lounge. As he opened the door he saw a familiar red head inside the room. Next to her was Meredith, Callie and Arizona. The four woman were peacefully chatting while they changed into their scrubs.

Shit... He thought. He had already opened the door, he couldn't go back.

"Hey Jackson." Meredith said as he entered the room. "You're ready for our surgery?"

"Yeah." He said not really listening. He was too busy trying not to look at his ex-fiancée.

Meredith saw the woman Jackson was staring at. She hadn't seen her anywhere before.

"Who is she anyway?" She asked.

"I don't know." Jackson answered.

"So the why do you bother looking at her like she's your propriety?"

"She's no one." He restated.

"Yeah, sure... now hurry up or we'll be late." She said as she walked towards the OR.

"It's not like they can start without us." Jackson muttered as he looked at the red head woman one last time and followed his coworker.

 _~ lunch time ~_

By the time he got to the cafeteria to eat his lunch, everyone knew about the new trauma surgeon and her paramedic fiancé. All he could hear were people talking about them and saying how cute they were. Everyone knew their engagement story and loved to tell others who hadn't had the time to hear it yet.

Everyone knew who she was but no one had yet pierce her past and no one had made the link between them. At least, for now.

As he walked towards his friends with his tray filled with junk food he saw something different, something that bothered him.

She was there, having a conversation with his friends. He wanted to run, to go hide or just leave. He didn't want to be outed. But most of all he didn't want to be hunt by his past.

But he couldn't walk away, he couldn't just leave. By the time he had decided to turn around and head for a meeting room, he had already been spotted by his friends who called him and urged him to sit.

Everyone but Alex seemed to be mesmerized by April and everyone seemed to want to know more and more about her.

He sat down, putting his tray on the table and revealing its content. April looked over at it and smiled.

"You still have that bad habit." She said, pointing his tray.

"Still?" Lexie asked, intrigued by the link her ex-boyfriend and the new surgeon shared. "Do you know each other?"

Jackson didn't want to respond but he had to.

"Yes. We went to the same med school." He answered. "We were in the same class."

"You used to share more than that." Alex muttered loud enough for everyone around the table to hear.

April had understood Jackson's resilience to talk about their relationship and tried to save him from more questions he didn't want to answer.

"We went out together for a while." She said.

Her answer only sparked more questions from Jackson's coworker and he had to fake an appointment to leave the table and find a quite place where no one would ask him about his ex red headed girlfriend.

 _~ some time ago ~_

 _April and Jackson were waiting in the OBGYN's office. April's bump had grown quite a lot in the past 6 months. They had started to paint the nursery. In a neutral color of course since they didn't want to find out the gender. At first, their parents had been alarmed by the pregnancy news but now they were all patiently waiting for the baby to come. They couldn't wait to see their little Buddha on the screen. They had started to call him that since it was the position he had been in for the past two sonogram._

 _"April Kepner." The receptionist called out._

 _Jackson got up and helped his fiancé out of the seat. They walked into the small room and April laid on her back and lift up her shirt. Jackson took her hand and smiled at her. They were happy, so happy and they had no idea what was coming their way._

 _"Are you ready?" The OB asked._

 _"Yes." April answered enthusiast. "Let's see the little Buddha."_

 _The OB placed the cold gel on her bump and placed the *scanner* afterwards. She started moving the device to look for the baby. Two pairs of eyes were looking at the monitor, waiting to see their little one appear on the screen._

 _And there he was, still in the same position. The doctor's face changed when she saw the tiny human, but April and Jackson didn't notice as they were both mesmerized by the screen. The doctor lifted the device and placed it back at its place._

 _"Okay, so we're done for now but I have to check something. Wait here I'll come back" the OB said before walking out the room._

 _April had Jackson looked at the woman walk out and hadn't thought about it twice. Everything was fine and their baby was healthy since she hadn't say anything._

 _The OB came back in the room with a sterne look on her face._

 _"Can you come to my office." She asked._

 _The couple looked at each other and followed her. April squeezed Jackson's had harder, afraid of what might be going on._

 _They sat down in front of the doctor's desk and looked at her, all the questions they had plastered on their face._

 _"This will be difficult to hear, and I'm really sorry I have to do this but your baby is suffering from Ostegena Imperfecta. He is suffering from the worst stage. I'm sorry, but your baby won't live pass the day if his birth." The doctor told them._

 _April started crying and Jackson took her into his arms, trying to cover up his pain._

 _~present time~_

Jackson opened the door to his mentor's office and sat down on a chair next to his desk.

"How do you do it?" He asked.

"Do what?" Mark Sloan responded.

"See your ex everyday and not go crazy."

"Are you talking about Lexie? What, is she giving you trouble?"

"No. No. It's not her, it's someone else."

"You have other exes?!" Mark said surprised. "Did you go out with a nurse to get over Lexie and now she's causing you problem? I thought I told you that going out with nurses wasn't a good idea."

"No. But I'm insulted you thought so low of me."

The two men looked a each other for a while, trying to figure out who would speak first and give in.

"It's the new surgeon." Jackson said.

"You had an affair with a married woman! I didn't think it would be allowed the Avery code of honour."

"I didn't have an affair with her." He said. "We were engaged a while back."

"And? You're over her anyway." Mark said as he looked at Jackson's face to see his reaction.

"Yeah, I'm over her." He lied.

Mark had worked with him too long to not know when he was lying and he could tell that he was.

"You're not over her! Come on man. Now I understand you're struggle."

Jackson looked at his mentor with desperation.

"So what happened between you two? What made her broke the engagement?"

"We lost, we lost our son." He started as the other man almost choked.

 _~ a few months after Samuel's death~_

 _Jackson was sitting in the living room of his and April's tiny appartement. He had a beer in one hand and a huge cut across his other arm. He had started to dismantle his son's nursery and the crib and taking a little more time than he would've liked it to take. He got angry and broke a part of it._

 _April and him had started back work a few weeks ago and everything in the hospital made him remember the pain he was in when Samuel died in his arms. All he could think about during his shift was alcohol to forget. He wanted to forget that he ever had a son and he wanted the pain to go away._

 _He heard a key turn in the lock and the door open to let an exhausted April in. She hated those 48 hours shift but they had to go threw it to accomplish their goals. She took off her coat and put it away in the closet, doing the same with her shoes. At first, she didn't see Jackson, and she started to prep the dinner. And then she saw the blood in the sink, there was so much blood._

 _"Jackson?" She asked, scared. "Jackson?"_

 _"What?" The man answered._

 _April finally saw him. She walked as fast as she coud to him and touched his arm. The cut was deep and too long to heal on it's own._

 _"You can't leave this like that, you need stitches."_

 _"I'm fine, I'll just do it later."_

 _"No, I'll do it. I have all i need to do it in our room." She said._

 _"I said that I'm fine!" He shouted as he pushed her away._

 _"Please dont be like that." She said almost in a whisper._

 _She got up and took the empty beer bottles and gathered them in the kitchen. Next she walked to their bedroom passing on her way. She looked inside and saw what her fiancé had done. The crib was destroyed beyond repair and all the bay stuff had been thrown into different corners of the room. She stared at the room for a little while before she got the courage to to her own and get the stuff she needed to stitch up Jackson's arm. She found the emergency kit in the back of her closet hiding behind her maternity clothes._

 _She took it out and went back to the living room, she put it at Jackson's feet and went to the sink to fill up a glass of water. She brought it to her man and took from his hand the last beer bottle and replaced it with it._

 _"Let me see your arm." She asked him._

 _"April..."_

 _"No. I'm doing it. You're drunk and you're too out of it to do it."_

 _She place his arm on her lap and got the rubbing alcohol and some gaze. She rubbed the gaze on his open wound to disinfect it. She took out the needle and the thread and started stitching up his wound. When she was finished, she gathered the things she had used and put some in the garbage and put the needle in a bag to sanitize it later._

 _From the kitchen counter she looked at Jackson. He looked so demolished. He wasn't even the shadow of the man she once knew. Since they had lost their son, he had invested all he had in his 48 hours shifts and would drink his problems away as soon as he got home. She couldn't bare to see him like that every day. She needed to fix him as much if not more as she needed to fix herself._

 _She walked back to him and helped him get up from the chair. She passed his arm around her shoulders and helped him walk to their bed._

 _"You shouldn't help me." He said. "You should let me rot."_

 _"I won't let you rot. I love you and I won't let anything happen to you." She said as they passed the nursery._

 _She sat him up in their bed and took hi shoes off. She helped him take off his shirt and he lay on his side. She was about to leave when he took her hand and brought it to his cheek._

 _"Thank you." He said. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be drinking but I need to forget."_

 _"I know she said."_

 _"I love you."_

 _"And I love you too. We will find a way to help you."_

 _He fell asleep not long after she said those words and in his sleep he let go of her hand._

 _The next morning when he woke up, he heard her speaking in the phone in the kitchen._

 _"Yes Catherine, I'll be able to convince him. It's in his best interest anyway. Did you call the hospital? Are they okay with him taking a leave of absence?" The redhead said into the phone._

 _Jackson couldn't hear the response of her interlocutor but he sure knew who the person was. He passed her in the kitchen sat on one of the chairs next to the island._

 _"Why are you talking to my mother?" He asked._

 _"I'm sorry Catherine, we'll have to talk later. He just woke up." She said to the person at the other end of the line. "Okay. I'll call you back." She then closed her phone and put it on the counter. "I found a way for you to get better."_

 _"April, I'm fine."_

 _"No you're not. You get drunk every night if you're not burying yourself into work. You need help and you need to get time off."_

 _"I don't." He insisted._

 _"Jackson, please. Just go and take time off for a couple of weeks. Go be with your mom in Boston and come back when you're better. Really better." She said as she got closer to him and took his hand. "Don't do it for you, do it for Samuel."_

 _"Okay, I guess I could give it a try."_

 _April came even closer and buried her face into his neck. His arms surrounding her._

 _"Thank you." She said._

 _~back to present time~_

"Yeah, I still don't get how you two broke up." Mark said laying back on his chair. "What you left for Boston and got together with someone else?"

"No. It's worse."

"You got someone pregnant?!"

"No. I wasn't there when she needed me. I took too long and we drifted apart." He explained.

 _~ more than a year after Samuel's death~_

 _Jackson entered his an April's appartement for the first time in a year. He hadn't been back since he had went to visit his mother. Actually, he hadn't left Boston since then. His short trip turned into a long term thing and he continued his internship there._

 _Everything was easier there. He didn't have to walk into all the hallways April had walked in during her pregnancy and he wasn't reminded by every person there of his loss._

 _But he had to come back to Seattle. He had "healed" and now he had to face the music head on._

 _"April?" He called out._

 _She didn't respond. It was 3 am but he still had hoped she would be awake knowing her schedule._

 _He walked to the kitchen, leaving his luggage at the door. He opened the faucet and left the cold water run while he opened one of the cabinet totale out a glass. Without looking he took a glass out and by his motion, he knocked over a box that fell in the counter._

 _That little white box fell familiar to him. He opened it to find the ring he had given to April almost two years ago._

 _The box falling onto the counter must have made more sound than he fought because he could hear footsteps coming from their bedroom._

 _"Jackson?!" April exclaimed, surprised. "What are you doing here?"_

 _"I came back home." He answered._

 _"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"_

 _"I guess I wanted to surprise you." He told his fiancée._

 _She walked to him and hugged him as hard as she could. She had missed him so much and she felt safer now that she was in his embrace. She opened her eyes and looked at what had fallen down onto the counter. Her ring was slightly shinning, reflecting the few light spots in the kitchen_.

 _A few weeks later, Jackson came home to the same empty space. For the past weeks, he felt like April was trying to avoid him. He hadn't came home once with her there to welcome him._

 _He walked into their bedroom and felt yet again the annoyance he felt every time he saw it laying there in her nightstand._

 _"Seriously?" He said as he took the white box._

 _He opened it and found yet again her ring in its place. It annoyed him that she didn't wear it. They were engaged after all._

 _He walked out of their bedroom with the box and he put it on the little table next to the couch. He opened the TV and put it on a game. Next he went into the kitchen and got himself a couple of beers._

 _Not before long, he was drunk and not before long April arrived_.

 _"Hey." She said as she walked in and saw him on the couch._

 _"Hey." He said back._

 _Before he could say anything, April had already spotted the beers and had came over to take them away._

 _"Are you kidding me?" She asked. "You're doing it again."_

 _"I'm doing what?"_

 _"You're drinking enough to get you drunk and you leave it all for me to pick it up. It's unfair Jackson."_

 _She went to the sink and rinsed them all up. It had been part of his new habits to get drunk every now and then but she was tired of it. It's not like he was with his buddies or anything, he was alone and drank to pass time._

 _"You wanna know what unfair?" He started. "You not wearing the ring I gave you."_

 _"It gets in the way at work." April defended_.

 _"Who cares?! I want everyone to know you're mine. Only mine!" He yelled at her._

 _"Jackson please don't start."_

 _He came over and she tried to walk away but he had her stuck in a corner._

 _"Don't start what? Are you cheating in me?!" He continued yelling. "Is that why you won't wear it? You're over me and our boy? You forgot about us?! It's was so easy for you." He grabbed her arm and forced her to face him._

 _"Jackson, you're scarring me."_

 _He looked her in the eyes and he could see it. She really was scarred of him. He let her out of the corner and went directly to the bedroom. Leaving her, afraid and feeling unsafe in her own home._

 _The next morning, April woke up before him and decided she had to make a change. She was tired of him and his behaviour. She called a few people she knew before he woke up_.

 _"I'm sorry about last night." He said as he came into the room._

 _"Is that all you're sorry about?" She said bitter._

 _"What? Are you really gonna bring this up again?"_

 _"Yes, Jackson. I'm gonna bring this up again since you keep telling me I forgot about what I went trough."_

 _"What we went trough." He corrected her._

 _"No, there was no we. I went trough it alone and on my own because you left me."_

 _"You were already healed when I left. I didn't leave you. I was dying. I did what I had to do to survive."_

 _"I wasn't healed. You left me broken and dying too. You just can't allow yourself to see it. You left me alone to build myself back up."_

 _"What bugs you the most?" He asked her. "That I left it that the thing I needed wasn't you? Why are you so bitter about me finding a way to heal?"_

 _"Because the thing I needed was you." She let out in almost a whisper. "I needed you and you left me."_

 _"I needed to survive." He continued. "I did and now I can help you."_

 _"You can't Jackson." She started. "I healed alone. I survived, and I will survive without you."_

 _"What are you saying?"_

 _"I'm done. I'm done picking up after you and I'm done being your scapegoat. We're done. That what I'm saying."_

 _"All because of last night?!"_

 _"No. Because you didn't care. Not once did you call the past year. You didn't even bitter calling me back." She said pointing her accusing finger at him. "You didn't even care enough to know if I was okay. I lost my son too, you know."_

 _~present time~_

"The woman gave birth to your dead son and you didn't call her, not even once, in an entire year?" Mark repeated.

"I know, I was a jerk." Jackson stated.

"Yeah, that's an understanding."

"After that I moved out here and started over."

"And it's the first time you've seen her since."

"Yeah. I never even thought I'd seen or hear from her ever again."

"And now you're stuck here with her for the next month in the hospital we're the gossip goes around as quickly ass lightning."

"Yeah." Jackson said.

"What are you going to do?" His mentor asked.

"I have no idea."

4735 words. 


End file.
